A painting depicting President Obama as Jesus Christ on a cross is on display at a Community College Art Gallery in Boston, as part of a larger exhibit called “Artists on the Stump – the Road to the White House 2012.”

The artist said the public exhibition “has afforded me the ability to right a wrong,” as the painting was initially due to debut at New York City’s Union Square in 2008, but was canceled due to “public outrage,” as reported by Todd Starnes. It is odd that any gallery would cancel such a portrait. After all, the “Piss Christ” was recently on display in New York with no angry Christians storming the Gallery.

It is reminiscent of the recent declaration by actor Jamie Foxx, who said “It’s like church over here. It’s like church in here. First of all, give an honor to God and our lord and savior Barack Obama” during the 2012 Soul Train Award show in Las Vegas on Sunday, as reported by Joe Newby of the Examiner. Newby also references several other such comparisons, such as a Newsweek cover from 2010 with the title, “God of All Things.”

President Obama has been depicted with various “Halos,” prompting some interesting photo collections online and even prompting a statement from former Obama supporter Artur Davis at the Republican National Convention, where he said, “Maybe the Hollywood stars and the glamour blinded us a little: You thought it was the glare, some of us thought it was a halo.” This is just one of many examples:

The Cult of Personality

The Cult of Personality has surrounded the president since he evoked tingles up Chris Matthews’ leg and inspired people to faint during his speeches.

Yet another example would be from the Obama team themselves. They actually sold an Obama version of the American flag designed for the campaign (which were later “quietly removed” from the site). One author from IBD asks, “Did we just wake up in Mao’s China?” Any connection with communism and the president is immediately teased out and marginalized by a variety of left-wing sources; however, there is a clear connection, deliberate or not, between Obama’s “deification,” and a cult of personality as seen in places such as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Newsweek‘s Evan Thomas and Jon Meacham had a conversation on PBS with Charlie Rose, where Evan Thomas remarked, “There is a slightly creepy cult of personality about all of this.” After Rose confronted him on his use of this phrase, Thomas explained that it made him “a little uneasy that he’s so singular. He’s clearly managing his own spectacle. He knows how to do it. He’s a — I think, a deeply manipulative guy…” Later, all three marveled about how it was “amazing” that Obama “watches us watching him.” A partial transcript can be found at the link.